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Flower Girl - A Review by Joy Isi Bewaji

Rushing to the cinema to catch Flight or Life of Pi or Silver-lining Notebook, Flower Girl happened to me. I had caught a glimpse of the activities of the movie on blogs and websites, but with the on-going burst of colour in the entertainment/fashion industry with many a red-carpet gigs, many new artistes/new singles this-and-that, it all becomes a blur in my head. So yes, I was standing at the cinema counter and I was told that Flower Girl was the only movie showing at the time. I was bored, the sun was hot, whatever it turned out to be, I was sure it’ll be better than driving in bad traffic under the sun.

Love is a desperate thing- at least that’s what I get from Michelle Bello’s Flower Girl. A sunburst Damilola Adegbite is in love with her boyfriend, Chris Attoh- a rather frosty guy with no bone of excitement in him. She on the other hand, is a ball of enthusiasm waiting to explode! A florist who spends all her time day-dreaming of her wedding day, with the help of an eccentric friend, they both wallow in the thought of when and how she (Damilola) will finally be proposed to.

The question burns her tongue, so she asks her boyfriend. Frankly, he’d rather be mowing the grass at CMS than be bothered about settling down, but he is not the kind of guy to burst a lady’s dream with harsh truths, so he explains to her that money is a key factor. Then rumours of a promotion hit her eardrums later on. Aha! Promotion suggests more money, and more money means she can finally get her boyfriend to propose! The florist cannot wait! After all these years supplying beautiful fresh flowers for weddings, hers is about to come true.

In her haste, she demands the deed be done in the most awkward of places – in a casual outing with his (Chris) boss and his wife in attendance. She (Damilola) is edgy, anxious, irritated and very disappointed when he (Chris Attoh) wouldn’t “reason” with her and just pop the damn question!

Ah well, we know how that always goes: she runs back to her friend to cry on her shoulders, she cannot concentrate at work, and cannot stop thinking about him. Ooh, let’s not forget she poured his glass of Champagne on his head – in front of his boss, but surprisingly, she’s the one who is distraught!

It seems her man is not ready to propose, and she can’t wait! So what do we do? Hmmm, let me see…we get really sad and walk through the streets until a hot dude in an SUV hits us and takes us to his home to recuperate! But he is not just any random hot dude – he is the hottest actor in town!!! (yay!)

The press is at his door trying to get the scoop on the girl that was hit by the actor’s (played by Chuks Chukwujekwu) car. From one miserable thought to another, Damilola comes up with a plan: “act like my new man so I can make my real man jealous enough to want me back!”

Cheesy, yes; but she is a tough nut and so he goes along with the plan, which includes grooming her to a point of near-perfection! Now she is as bright as a diamond. And he (Chuks) is falling for her! But it’s not that easy, there’s a bug in his life – the beautiful Eku Edewor plays the part of a spoilt cool kid who always gets what she wants- her needs include having the actor as her lover, which isn’t exactly the most pleasant thought on his mind. So love is swirling in the air (for Damilola and Chuks). First it starts with denial, of course; but you can’t keep a lascivious thought lonely for too long.

So at the end, we see a young bride-to-be (Damilola) in her wedding dress with the man she truly loves - Chris, or Chuks? I actually giggled. But no spoilers, I’m sorry. You’ll have to go watch this one for yourself.

It has proven hard to re-invent the romantic comedy wheel, so yes it is as predictable as all the Jennifer Aniston rom-com you’ve watched, but Damilola is a really sweet character- she has that glow that is just so warm; Chris Attoh is talented – very much so; Eku comes with a lot of spark; and Chuks has really nice pink lips!

I would recommend you watch Flower Girl; it is worth your Saturday evening. It is a romantic comedy, not Argo; so please do not expect it to solve all your problems! It is chic and ticklish. I’m rooting for this one!